Just Breathe
by Tonight.At.Noon
Summary: "You loved him too?" He sounds hurt, but Caroline could not care any less about Stefan's precious feelings. "Yes," she admits harshly, surprised at how uncaring she is sharing this information. But, as she has said, they are all going to die anyway. What's the point in carrying secrets anymore? (AU - One Shot)


**A/N:** Please excuse any inaccuracies and/or grammatical/spelling errors. There are bound to be some if not many.

Enjoy.

* * *

 _And even as we stood and watched it fall apart/_

 _I loved you with all my might_

Love is Not Enough | Dean Friedman

* * *

 **Just Breathe**

* * *

"Stefan, they're here." Enzo bursts into the Salvatore mansion, startling Caroline as she paces the floor, both hands cradling her large belly. She stops moving, her arms falling by her sides as her billowing dress collapses against her legs, and looks over at Stefan, whose face warps instantly.

"How?" he shouts, advancing towards Enzo dangerously. "You were supposed to be keeping them away! How the fuck did this happen?"

Enzo splutters. Caroline has never seen him look so lost and full of ire. His nostrils flare. There is genuine fear in his usually teasing eyes. "They're powerful," he says, and Caroline does her best to stay upright as terror spikes her bloodstream. "More powerful than we gave them credit. They want her, Stefan, and they'll do whatever they have to do to get her."

 _Her_.

Caroline's knees start buckling. She reaches out for the nearest sofa, clutching the velvet back to stop herself from collapsing. Thoughts zip about her mind, one after the other, racing about and clambering noisily until she drowns out Stefan's pained, screeching voice. Why didn't they leave when there was still time? What sort of God complex overtook all of them and convinced them they were capable of taking these bastards down themselves? They were fools for believing they could stop them; Stefan the biggest fool of all.

Gnawing her bottom lip, breaking through the skin and tasting blood, Caroline notices the room has gone quiet. She looks at the two squabbling vampires and sees they are both staring at her. They are thinking of what to do with her. Her: the one the coven want so badly. But Caroline knows the truth. There is nothing any of them can do now. They have lost and it is only a matter of time before the victors come to claim their prize.

"Enzo," Stefan says without tearing his eyes off Caroline, "get Bonnie."

"She's trying to get more spells up, Stefan. I don't think she can help us here"—

—"Get Bonnie!" Stefan repeats, louder and harsher than before. He turns to Enzo. "Now. Before it's too late."

It already is too late, though.

Caroline does not say this out loud. Stefan is wound up like he never has been before. Even his Ripper days cannot match this level of strain and agitation. And why should it? When he was the Ripper, he was an emotionless henchman. Here, in his home, with Caroline quivering against a sofa and Enzo rushing out of the door with a loud bang that can only mean he has torn the wooden thing off completely in his frustration, he is powerless. Defenceless against this new, menacing threat.

Her telling him there are no more options but defeat will only end badly.

"Caroline," Stefan says. Though he has been looking at her, she knows this is the first time all morning he actually recognises her. He comes up to where she is and takes her hands. She breathes through parted lips. "I will protect you. I swear, they won't get you or the babies."

She nods, blinking quickly. What else can she do? Scream? Her lungs are not taking in enough useless oxygen to produce such a noise. "I know," she says. _Lies_. "I know."

"How are you feeling? Are the babies kicking? Have you been monitoring their movements?" Stefan lets go of her and moves his attention to her swollen belly.

He is the world's most stressed midwife. Stefan's obsession with the twins started only when the new and improved bad guys made themselves known. His hands have hardly left Caroline's stomach in three days. She feels him pressing his hard fingers into various pressure points of her belly, checking for any sign of life himself. His touch becomes harsh; it is no longer as calming as it was when this circus began, rather it fills Caroline with a sickening chill.

She knows why he is obsessed with Alaric's unborn twins. Why he needs them to be alive, and why, when after an agonising two minutes of silent concentration, one of the twins jerks inside of Caroline, kicking three times in succession, Stefan's stiff posture suddenly relaxes as if there is no more danger of which to speak.

"That's good," he says, finally removing his hand. His mouth holds the flicker of a smile.

Caroline disagrees. It's horrible of her, but she wishes in this moment as Stefan backs away from her and goes to the coffee table decorated in various spell books that these unborn children would leave her. Wishes they had never come to her in the first place all of those months ago. None of this would be happening if she had been allowed to remain barren. They would all be safe from harm if her rights had not been horribly violated by the Gemini Coven.

Guilt eats at her over these feelings. The guilt thickens whenever she sees Alaric and the unspeakable sadness in his eyes as he focuses on her enlarged abdomen. But as she keeps reminding herself, she did not ask for this. It was forced upon her, and now the whole Scooby Gang is suffering greatly because of it.

Shifting her weight from one foot to the other as the twins roll in her stomach, Caroline winces as the muscles in her lower back tighten for the seventeenth time since that evening. She reaches for the velvet back of the sofa once more, holding on to it as the pain radiates to her thighs. It passes seconds later, and she is about to tell Stefan that the spasms are happening more and more, but before she can open her mouth Enzo has returned with Bonnie in tow and the momentary discomfort is forgotten.

"It won't work," Bonnie reveals as she enters the Salvatore house.

Stefan abandons Caroline and goes up to the mocha-skinned witch, saying forcefully, "That's not good enough, Bon. It needs to work."

Bonnie's eyes flick over to the trembling Caroline. She offers the blond vampire a meaningful head tilt and then looks back to Stefan. "We're all out there trying our best to set up a blockade that I know will not be powerful enough to stop them from getting to her. When will you understand that I'm not strong enough to fool them? We've tried this before, Stef. It didn't work then, and it won't work now."

"Not good enough!" Stefan barks.

How many times can he say this before he realises that it doesn't matter if their plans are good enough?

He loves her. Caroline knows this. Everyone knows this. Stefan Salvatore is in love with her and he cannot bear the thought of anything bad happening to her.

Only that isn't true. He doesn't love her. Not really. His attention moved to her so quickly after Elena's sudden demise, and she thinks sometimes that his heart gets confused. When he looks at her, Caroline is sure every now and again he sees Elena standing in her place. Her dark hair and olive skin; her brown eyes and slender figure. Since the twins were transferred to Caroline, she suspects when Stefan's eyes glaze over he is imagining a life in which he was born at the tail-end of the 20th century along with the rest of them. He sees himself growing up alongside them in a supernatural-free Mystic Falls, falling madly in love with Elena Gilbert the first time they meet and marrying her as soon they graduate high school. He sees Elena's stomach full of a life placed there by him, not her outrageously rotund figure.

It doesn't hurt Caroline anymore. She understands the notion of One True Love and knows that when he shouts at Bonnie that they need to do everything within their power to protect Caroline, he really is stuck in some fantasy, demanding they keep Elena safe. Maybe it's some sort of retroactive guilt. Maybe he thinks saving Caroline and the twins will somehow cure him of the remorse he feels over not being able to save Elena.

"We're doing all we can, Stefan! Her powers are already so weak. Please don't make her cast anymore." It is Enzo, pleading with Stefan to leave Bonnie alone.

"It's okay, Enzo," Bonnie says, arms folded in a protective stance. She looks up at Stefan, anger represented in her stare. "One more spell. And I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for my best friend who you should have taken from this mess as soon as it started."

Stefan is too proud to acknowledge Bonnie's insult. He only nods his head and calls Caroline over to where the three of them stand in front of the gaping hole where the front door used to be. She waddles slowly to them, stopping when another flash of pain hits her lower back. Nobody seems concerned, though, and they patiently wait until she reaches them.

Bonnie takes her hands. "One more," she says, her green eyes no longer portraying indignation. They are sad now. Teary. "It won't do much, but maybe it'll do just enough to hide you for a little bit longer while we fend them off."

"Okay," Caroline says, nodding.

Bonnie starts up the incantation immediately. The room shakes. Caroline feels the protection spell coating her. Lights flicker and go out momentarily, returning when Bonnie opens her eyes and steps away, clearly exhausted.

Enzo is there to keep her from collapsing. "Hide her. Now," he says to Stefan calmly, but Caroline hears the threat hidden in his words. "We're going to the frontline. Be safe, Caroline. We will do all that we can to protect you."

"Thank you, Enzo," Caroline says, picking up on the bitterness in his voice. Taking careful steps, Caroline wraps her arms around Bonnie. She is grateful when her best friend responds in kind, and the pair hold each other upright until Enzo says they must leave. "Run," she hisses into Bonnie's ear. The witch stiffens. "They are coming and they will kill all of you unless you run. You know what they want, and I know they won't care enough about you to track you down. Please, run." Against her cheek, Caroline feels Bonnie nod.

"I love you, Caroline."

"I love you too."

The pair separate. Caroline says farewell to Enzo as Stefan informs them he will meet them out there once Caroline is safely hidden.

It's completely inappropriate, but Caroline wants to laugh when Stefan takes her arm and begins walking her to the cells deep beneath the house. It is probably hysteria. A side effect of knowing you are about to die. Because no matter how many of her friends say they will lay down their lives to save hers, Caroline is not deceived. If they do not run like she warned, they will be killed. And so, in turn, will she.

The coven want Caroline, yes, but only for what she holds within the confines of her belly. Once they have separated her from the twins, she is as disposable as the rest of them. It seems to Caroline she is the only one to understand this. Stefan thinks if the coven is to overpower all of them and find Caroline, they will at least spare her life in exchange for the twins'. How piteous of him.

It is a cruel thought, but it's the truth nonetheless.

When they reach the bottom of the stone steps, another wave crashes inside of Caroline, more extreme than the others. She stops in her tracks and clutches Stefan's shoulder, croaking in pain.

"What's happening?" Stefan asks, startled. His voice echoes coldly around the dungeon.

"It's just Braxton Hicks," she assures him. "I think it's the stress."

"But the babies are okay?"

"They're fine, I swear." But as the words leave her dried lips, the world goes still around her and a gush of water leaks between her thighs. _No_. No, no, no, no, no. Caroline, her blond hair sticking to the sudden perspiration lining her face, looks up at Stefan, frightened. "No," she whispers.

Stefan isn't looking at her, though. His focus is on the wet stone beneath their feet. "Oh, my God," he utters. He shakes Caroline's hand off of his shoulder and runs his hands through his dark curls. "This isn't supposed to be happening. It's _not time_."

It isn't time. Technically, Caroline is two months away from her due date. But what the hell is a due date to a vampire, anyway? Stress has caused her to go into labour prematurely, and that is Stefan's fault for not getting them out of Mystic Falls when they had the chance.

Stefan's plan is halfway ruined now.

"I'll stay with you," he says.

Caroline balks. "You won't," she insists, pressure building between her legs as another contraction hits her.

He frowns, confused by her refusal. "Why not? I can help."

If she weren't in mortal peril, if the whole town and each of its inhabitants weren't in mortal peril, Caroline would give in. She would do as she has done for years now and try her best to appease Stefan. But there is imminent danger afoot, so she bites down her inane desire to please the old man standing in front of her. "This is all your fault," she says through gritted teeth, and to her satisfaction, Stefan backs away. "You kept me here! You called on witches and vampires and werewolves to trap me in Mystic Falls when you should have been letting me escape. This is your fault, Stefan. If they find me now and kill me, it'll be on you and your _stupid_ plan!" Another contraction. Caroline stops talking and reaches out for the stone wall to keep her steady. When it passes, she looks at Stefan through her lashes. His face is bent in betrayal. "We should have called him when there was still time."

Stefan visibly flinches. There is no denying he knows of whom Caroline speaks. "That animal doesn't care about us, Caroline. If he did, he would have come back years ago."

But he did come back years ago. Stefan doesn't know—nobody knows—but he came back. For her. And the reason he hasn't returned is because she told him not to. It was her one condition, and she has regretted it ever since even though she knows she shouldn't.

What was the point of ordering him to stay away? He could be helping them this very moment if only he knew how foolish of a request hers had been. He could be with her, protecting her in her extremely fragile state. She is strong, yes, but she would be as big of an idiot as Stefan if she believed she could push through this magnificent pain to save herself from the monsters knocking on their door.

"You liked him, didn't you?" Stefan says. He pulls Caroline away from the stone wall and guides her deeper into the dungeon. She looks at him, biting through her tongue as her stomach muscles and back muscles and pelvic muscles convulse. "Klaus. We all saw it. How could you, Caroline? More than half the time he was actively trying to kill us all."

As hurt and insulted as she is by Stefan's choice of words, he raises a fair point. Honestly, she has spent many years wondering what drew her to him. What sort of spell he managed to cast over her. She has yet to come up with a decisive answer.

Somehow she saw him. Whether he let her, or whether her ability to push past people's walls was more powerful back then, she will never know. Either way, she saw him. The real him. She saw the human being hiding behind the ancient mask of an Original vampire. She spotted the young, innocent boy still trapped by his father's curse. Klaus may have tried destroying them and their town on multiple occasions, he may have specifically tried bringing her down more than once, but something switched that day he came to rescue her from Tyler's bite.

 _There's a whole world out there waiting for you…_

 _…All you have to do is ask._

And she knows. She does. He's evil. Through and through. He has killed so many people. Wrecked so many lives. But he has also saved her. He has invited her in. He has, in his own way, loved her.

 _I intend to be your last…_

They have reached the farthest cell and Caroline has still not responded to Stefan's accusation. He guides her inside the musty cage. She can feel the wet air on her unfeeling skin.

"Just . . . tell me," Stefan says as Caroline situates herself on the small, torn mattress Stefan had shoved in there last night.

Clutching her stomach while another contraction takes ahold of her senses, Caroline pants, "Tell you what?"

"About Klaus. Tell me. This might be the last time we see each other."

"And you wanna talk about Klaus?"

"Please, Caroline," Stefan pleads.

"Fine!" Caroline exclaims. "Fine, Stefan. Yes, I loved him. Yes, he loved me. Yes, it was some fucked-up, twisted relationship, but it was _real_. More real than you and me and our pseudo bond. I wish to God he was here right now. I asked you, but you _didn't do it_! And now look at us, hiding in the basement from the most powerful coven in the world while these twins are trying to push themselves out of me."

"You loved him too?" He sounds hurt, but Caroline could not care any less about Stefan's precious feelings.

"Yes," she admits harshly, surprised at how uncaring she is sharing this information. But, as she has said, they are all going to die anyway. What's the point in carrying secrets anymore?

"I have to go check on Bonnie and Enzo," Stefan says, wiping his hands over his face. He doesn't look at Caroline as he exits the cell. "Be safe."

He departs, leaving Caroline alone.

 _No_ , _not alone_ , she reminds herself as she rubs her sensitive belly. _Never alone_.

Covering her mouth with her hand, Caroline muffles a bubbling cry that tries to escape alongside another contraction. They are closer together now. No more than two minutes apart. The pain rises with each one, and soon she will not be able to keep quiet. Soon, the coven will break through Bonnie's spells and hear her down in this humid cellar. She will have nowhere to hide when they find her.

How did her life become this mess? Caroline Forbes was meant to do great things in the world. She was not meant to die stuck in her seventeen-year-old body, carrying somebody else's babies, the first vampire in the history of the world to become pregnant. She wishes her mother were there. Wishes she could see her calming face one last time before joining her on the other side. Surely she would have some words of wisdom for the pain-laced vampire.

Caroline's muscles contract once more. This is agony unlike any she has ever felt. It is different, too. Different from the poisonous swarm of a werewolf bite. From the burning of vervain. It is unique. Like her whole body is imploding. Everything aches and pulses—every single muscle is tight. She grips the edges of the mattress and leans against the damp wall. If only she could feel reprieve from the fire snaking through her veins through the cool stones prodding her skull.

So focused on the pressure building between her thighs, Caroline does not hear the clunking footsteps nearing her hiding place until it is too late. A light chuckle pulls at her attention. Her head jerks towards the opening of the cell. Leaning against the doorframe is a tall man who looks to be in his thirties. His black clothing make his pale face look as if it floats. Strands of auburn hair fall across his forehead, not quite reaching his inky eyes.

Caroline backs herself against the wall, a fresh wave of fear clutching her insides. She barely feels the next contraction as her canines drop. The veins in her cheeks ripple.

"It's started," he says excitedly, his voice deep and terrifying. His accent is strange; she can't place it. She has nowhere to run. She has no strength left to fight. He pouts and steps inside the cell. "And it hurts, doesn't it?"

Frozen, she looks up at him, her nostrils waving. "Fuck you!" she hisses.

The man chuckles once more as he reaches Caroline's shaking body. He crouches in front of her, his hand advancing towards her face. "There, there. Romeo's got you," he says, easily grabbing ahold of Caroline's chin. "It'll be over soon."

* * *

The instant he opens the bar doors he feels spontaneously lost. He looks around the place, unsure of where to place his next step. People mill about, chatting about their difficult work day. Their difficult relationship. Their difficult exam. Drinks slosh in glasses. Words become increasingly slurred. He should want to murder everyone in this joint, but he cannot bring himself to feel even the slightest bit annoyed at their mundane habits.

He has come here to celebrate. He should feel happy. Thrilled, even. He has just defeated his latest rival in a great battle. There are still small splatters of blood running up his leather-clad arms. Why, then, does he instead feel so . . . disoriented.

This stupor has been growing inside of him for the last couple of days, but he attributed it to stress. Now he isn't so sure what is causing it. It is an odd sensation, like there is a heavy cloud looming in the distance, readying itself to send a cascade of rain over his head. Could this be some form of premonition? A hint that danger is lurking right around the corner?

"You forget how to move, buddy?"

Klaus is pushed forward as a young man, barely twenty-one by the look of his brand new university sweater, barges inside the bar with a group of friends. They look to be fraternity brothers. One is even wearing a backwards baseball cap.

Startled out of his daze, Klaus reaches up and grabs Tweedle Dumb by the collar of his sweatshirt. The taller boy makes an odd gurgling noise as he is brought to Klaus' eye level. His friends do nothing to try to help. Cowards, the lot of them.

Klaus' eyes pulse. "Apologise," he compels, watching in satisfaction as the frat boy's face glosses over.

"I'm sorry, sir," he says, the words void of emotion. Klaus smirks satisfactorily.

Shoving the boy backwards, Klaus releases him and makes his way to the bar, ignoring the confused stares directed at his back.

Rousseau's is different without Camille, but he decided a little while ago that the difference is not necessarily bad. This is still his favourite place in the Quarter to enjoy his successes and wallow in his defeats, even when there is no human psychology major babbling to him, trying desperately to fix what he thinks has never actually been broken.

He does not miss her. Elijah thinks he should, but then Elijah has always been weaker than him. More full of emotion. He parted ways with those things centuries ago.

 _Liar_! a voice sounds in his head, but he blocks it out, snapping his fingers to gain the attention of the newest bartender.

The dark-skinned woman approaches him. "What can I get you?"

"Bourbon. Neat."

"Comin' right up."

He sits on his designated barstool, sipping on sharp bourbon, as patrons enter and exit the establishment. That sense of impending doom returns, and the alcohol helps dull the unease building in his stomach.

Of course, the drunkenness evaporates the instant Elijah appears beside him and takes his shoulder. Klaus' ears prick up. The hairs on the back of his neck rise. Something is wrong. Very, very wrong. He turns his head. Elijah's face is pulled. Apprehension swarms his features.

"What's happened?" Klaus asks, suddenly dreading receiving an answer. He wishes to swallow his words and forget his brother's tense figure, but his own concern is already out in the open. There is nothing he can do about it now except listen.

Elijah's grave face glances around the bar. "There have been rumours circulating for a little while now regarding a most powerful coven," he says, and Klaus feels his dead heart awaken. Is his kingdom in danger? "They call themselves _Distruttori dell'Amore_ and they have been searching for someone. Tonight, I think they have found her."

 _Her_.

The way Elijah says the word—Klaus' eyes widen. He rounds his his hands into fists. "Who have they found?"

"Again, there are rumours that there is a vampire confined with twins. It is believed the coven wishes to find this vampire and take the children from her."

A vampire with child? Child _ren_? Impossible. Even his own foray into the business ended in Hayley's passing. The foetus could not survive, nor could its host.

"How is this possible?" he asks. "And who, Elijah, is this vampire?" He knows. Deep, deep within his God-forsaken soul he knows the vampire of which Elijah speaks, but he must hear his brother say her name.

"I am unaware of how the situation arose, but the vampire . . . Klaus, it is Caroline."

Caroline. Oh, how his heart leaps into his throat upon hearing her sweet name. Images, memories, flash in his mind. He remembers the first time they spoke as he held down her dog of a boyfriend. She pled with him to not harm the boy. She was filled with such fire. Her ferocity is what first caught his eye.

Then, when they next met—her asking him to save her from the werewolf bite he demanded she be given. The hatred in her blue eyes turning to gratitude as she suckled on his blood. That was when he knew, of course. The instant her teeth dropped into his flesh, the instant a part of him entered her to become instead a part of her, he knew she would forever haunt him.

God, he is weak. Far weaker than Elijah. He can pretend all he likes, but Caroline Forbes captured him all those years ago and he has had no intention of ever being released.

"Where is she?" He does not sound like himself. His words are frantic and come out in one big rush of air. How human of him. "Elijah, tell me where she is."

"My sources have her located in the Salvatore House"—

Klaus hears his brother say something more, perhaps it is a word of warning against this supposed most powerful coven, the destroyers of love, but he is not listening. At vampiric speed, Klaus exists the bar, leaving his half-drunk glass of bourbon on the counter.

He is going to save her, their old pact be damned. Like he always does, he will stop at nothing to make sure she is safe.

* * *

Romeo stands and drops his bony hand from Caroline's face. She shrinks away from him. She shouldn't—it's a show of weakness—but she cannot help herself. She is scared. For her own life and for the babies' lives. Watching her slide to the far end of the mattress, Romeo's thin lips spread in in an ugly smile.

Days like today—like the past eight months—Caroline wishes she could go back, all the way back to when Stefan Salvatore and his demon brother arrived, and she wishes she could, in her human state, kill them both. It is a wicked thought, but it creeps into her mind still. Without them and their obsession with Elena Gilbert, everything would be different. Not just different. Everything would be _normal_.

Caroline doesn't even remember the definition of the word.

It is a terrible back and forth she has with herself. Part of her desires her old life. The other made peace with being a vampire a long time ago. The other _enjoys_ being a vampire. The former part is in charge today. Right now, she would give anything to jump through time and prevent this mayhem.

Clutching her belly, Caroline closes her eyes and holds her breath. Pressure builds between her legs as her back muscles twist.

"Well, isn't this exciting?" Romeo queries, clapping his hands together. "For me, dear, not for you."

Once the contraction passes, Caroline opens her eyes and finds Romeo once again crouched in front of her. She pants in his face. "Why are you doing this?"

Romeo cocks his head to one side. Shadows run over his angular face. He looks fierce. Evil. "Did no one tell you?"

"Tell me _what_?" she cries involuntarily. The contractions are barely two minutes apart.

"Has no one told you why we're here?" Romeo says, smiling. "Not even your boyfriend?"

Romeo's words startle Caroline. Has Stefan known the entire time why the coven are so desperate for her babies?

"I know you want the twins," she says, "but I don't know why."

Nodding his head sagely, Romeo rights his head and stares into Caroline's eyes. "These little rascals," he says, tracing the air around Caroline's half-deflated stomach, "are going to help my coven. They are more powerful than you can dream, dear Caroline. With them, we will rule the world."

"Bullshit," Caroline spits, clutching the mattress tight.

"Language," Romeo reprimands. His eyes tilt towards Caroline's bump. "I have no more time to explain. They're here."

Yes, they are. The apex of Caroline's thighs starts burning. She feels as though her skin is not the right size for her body. Like she could crack out of her shell at any moment.

"Wait!" she calls, gasping. She can hardly think straight, it's as if all of her strength has been sucked from her bones, but she needs to know. "My friends . . . what's happened to them?"

Romeo's face splits with a harrowing grin. "Gone," he says simply. "And soon, you will join them."

 _Gone_.

For the first time in her life, Caroline Forbes is well and truly on her own. There is no one coming to rescue her. A wash of sadness cascades over her as Romeo rolls the sleeves of his black sweater up to his elbows.

 _I don't want to die_.

Romeo is on his knees. His hand extends towards where her dress sticks to the sweat on her knees. She would kick him if she could move, but her body is frozen.

Above them, through the pounding of sluggish blood in her ears, Caroline hears a noise. Strangled groans upon hard thumps, like people falling. Romeo hears it too. He backs away from Caroline and looks up frantically.

"It can't be," he whispers.

Footsteps. She hears footsteps now. Running footsteps. She turns her head towards the cell opening as a dark figure appears in the shadows.

"It's the danger of bringing your entire coven on a mission, Romeo," the apparition says.

Caroline's heart bursts. She can taste blood. Feel her pulse everywhere.

She knows that voice. That voice has been playing on repeat in her mind for three days. For _three years_.

Klaus.

"If you're all together," Klaus continues, stepping further into the room. Romeo backs away. His shoulders are stiff. Caroline can sense the fear radiating off of him. "It is so much easier to kill you."

"Who are you?"

"Oh, Romeo, oh, Romeo. Haven't you done your research?"

"Who are you?" Romeo repeats, his voice quavering.

Klaus is now illuminated by thin sliver of light. He is far more terrifying than Romeo. His lip is pulled up in a snarl. Caroline sees the dots of his beard. The bronze curls atop his head. There is danger on his face. The devil hides in his gaze.

God, she has missed him.

"I'm your maker, Romeo," Klaus growls, a wolfish glimmer passing over the blues of his eyes.

"My what?"

Klaus rolls his eyes and lifts his arms. _Snap_. A crackling noise reverberates around the cell and Romeo's lifeless body falls to the ground.

Gasping, Caroline, her breaths stuttered and her face pulled in agony, looks up at Klaus. He stands above Romeo's corpse, his focus drifting to Caroline slowly. They stare at each other for only a moment, but Caroline feels as though an eternity passes before another contraction pulls her attention away from her saviour.

Caroline presses her chin against her chest and clenches her teeth to stop herself from screeching. In a flash, Klaus is by her side.

"They're coming," she says, panicked, looking at him through the tangled mess of her hair.

Reaching out, Klaus' hand gently moves her greasy blond locks out of her face, and Caroline holds her breath, in disbelief that Klaus Mikaelson is once again touching her. "You're okay," he tells her, a softness overcoming his features she has never seen before. He takes her hand. She squeezes with all of her might.

"It hurts," she protests, shaking her head. "I can't do this."

"You can. You have to," he says firmly.

"How did you find me?" she asks. She has to know.

"I heard you were in danger. I heard your name," he says, pausing briefly, "and I had to come back. I apologise for breaking my promise."

"That's okay," she croaks, almost smiling. "I'm really glad you did."

Saltwater fills her eyes. Her view blurs. Her belly spasms. Caroline cannot stop the rising pressure between her legs, and, as Klaus said, she has no choice.

 _Now_. Her body is screaming at her. It yells so loud in her ear. She listens, letting go of Klaus' hand. She instead grips the sides of the mattress, clenches her teeth, and pushes. Again and again and again. Eventually, something gives way. The pressure dissipates. A cry is heard, then another.

Exhausted, Caroline leans back against the stone wall, her eyes falling closed.

* * *

Romeo had lied. Two people escaped the massacre. Bonnie and Alaric were there to meet Caroline, Klaus, and the twins—girls, both gorgeous and healthy—when they exited the Salvatore House following Romeo's final curtain call. Shock warped their faces when they saw the Original vampire, but there was no time for questions.

With Klaus' help, Caroline was able to wipe the town's memories of the event. None witnessed the night's events, but survivors couldn't have them asking questions about where the Salvatore brothers had gone, so Caroline asked Klaus to make the boys disappear entirely, and, in a flash, Mystic Falls was rid of Damon and Stefan Salvatore for good.

Gazing up at the deep purple sky, the blond vampire watches as stars sparkle in the moonlight. She presses her feet firmly in the snow and folds her arms across her chest. She exhales slowly, and her breath moves like a ghost through the air. Smiling, she glances to her left, amused by her companion's unamused expression.

"Why do you look so glum?" she asks.

"I'm not _glum_ ," he says defensively. "I'm"—

—"Agitated? Angry? Annoyed? Bemused?" Caroline supplies, taking careful steps towards the very _glum_ man standing stiffly with his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Ha. Ha," he puffs. "I'm just not sure why we're here."

"You said anywhere, Klaus. This is anywhere."

"This is Iceland," he clarifies.

Reaching him, Caroline slips her hands through the loops his arms have made, clasping her fingers behind his back. "What's wrong with Iceland?"

"It's so barren," he complains, twisting his head around. "There's nothing here."

"I'm here," she says, pressing her forehead against his. "You're here. That's all that matters."

"You've been thinking about them, haven't you?" he says. He pulls his hands out of his pockets and embraces her. He can be soft when he wants to be. He can also be annoyingly insightful.

Caroline nods against him. "Yeah. It's been almost two years. I just can't believe so much time has gone by."

"Time means nothing to our kind," he says, mirroring what he has been telling her since they first met. Klaus pulls back, forcing her to meet his eyes. They sparkle like the sky. Like there are countless constellations hidden within them. "They're safe where they are, love."

So much has happened since Romeo visited Mystic Falls. Alaric left as well, not long after Caroline. And Bonnie—poor Bonnie—has stayed behind in the Salvatore House, preserving the phantom memories of all their fallen friends.

Klaus took Caroline away that same night as the battle. First, he took her to New Orleans where she spent her days in bed. Klaus paced outside her door a lot back then, afraid her light had been snuffed. She will always remember the way his smile overtook his face when she stepped outside, ready to take him up on his years old offer to travel the world. He looked human all of a sudden.

Tilting her head up the tiniest fraction, Caroline brushes her lips lightly against Klaus'. He relaxes into her. Holds her closer. As it always seems to be, he is the first to part his lips. Out snakes the warmth of his tongue. It traces the seam of Caroline's lips, requesting entrance. She grants it, opening her own mouth with a gentle sigh.

"Thank you," she says, retreating. He looks at her quizzically. "For taking me here. I've just always wanted to see"—

She breaks off with a gasp. Her eyes flit upward as a cascade of green waves fill the sky.

"You're welcome, love," she hears Klaus say. In his words, she hears his smile.

She smiles too.


End file.
